KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and China are now reaping the fruits of the trust placed by Malaysia's second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein in China back in 1974, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib said that back then his father embarked on what he called a "journey into the unknown to sow the seeds of mutual understanding and trust".

Recalling the opening chapter in Kuala Lumpur-Beijing ties, he said Tun Razak did so in the face of questions and criticism as many thought that he was wrong to lead Malaysia to become the first country in the region to establish diplomatic relations with China.

"Decades later, my father's decision to place his trust in China has been validated, and we have harvested the fruits of his vision.

"Economic and trade relations between Malaysia and China have grown from strength to strength, helped by close political and business exchanges at the highest levels," he wrote in an article for China Daily.

Najib pointed out that China was Malaysia's largest trading partner in 2015, a position it had maintained since 2009, with two-way trade last year totalling about US$100 billion.

"I've seen how China has retaken its place on the world stage as a great power, while in Malaysia we've progressed from being agricultural-based to an upper-middle income economy, well on the path to becoming a high-income developed nation," he said.

Najib, who is currently on a six-day official visit to China, alluded to Malaysia-China partnerships in fields like the industry, infrastructure, defence, real estate, railways, energy, education and others.

He specifically mentioned the futuristic underground metropolis of Bandar Malaysia, planned for Kuala Lumpur, that would be the largest underground city in the world.

"And we're delighted that Malaysia has been chosen to host Xiamen University Malaysia, the first overseas branch of any public Chinese university," he said.

Najib also highlighted what he described as the first significant defence deal between the two countries, with Malaysia puchasing littoral mission ships from China - the first two of which would be built in China.

He drove home the point that the relationship between China and Malaysia was based on mutual trust and respect, but at the same time "we recognise that there can be issues where even the closest of friends may disagree".

"When it comes to the South China Sea, we firmly believe that the overlapping territorial and maritime disputes should be managed calmly and rationally through dialogue, in accordance with the rule of law and peaceful negotiations.

"More generally, we believe that it's incumbent upon larger countries to treat smaller ones fairly. And this includes former colonial powers. It's not for them to lecture countries they once exploited on how to conduct their own internal affairs today," Najib said.

Malaysia and China, he said, were united in agreeing on the need to defend the sovereignty of the nation state and in the belief that individual histories, values and governance systems of different countries must be respected. Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar has objected to the suggestion that allowing property developers to offer home financing loans will turn them into 'Ah Longs' (loan sharks).

Noh said the policy has actually been in existence for some time and that 54 housing developers have licenses to provide loans as a “bridge” to cover the down payment for property purchases.

He said the policy has allowed the government to assist home buyers to secure financing under the Moneylenders Act 1951 (Amendment) 2011 (Act 400).

In September, Noh announced that eligible housing developers can obtain licences to provide financing of up to 100 per cent, to be issued by the ministry under the Act.

The announcement was met with criticism, including worries that it will encourage unregulated lending to households with weak financial profiles, and undermine the strength of the financial system if not implemented prudently.

Noh said he had brought the matter up to Cabinet, and it was decided that his ministry will review and improve home financing under the Act, including in terms of interest rates and repayment period, so that it would not burden the people.

"The ministry will take proactive measures and look comprehensively into the effectiveness of loan facilities under the Act.

“These include coming up with guidelines which are clear and easy to understand by both housing developers giving the loans, and borrowers.

“We want to ensure that the mechanism will not be misused by irresponsible licence holders,” he said during the Minister's Question Time (MQT) in Parliament today.

The Tanjung Karang MP was replying to Datuk Dr Makin @ Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan), who asked him to state the purpose and intention of the government in allowing property developers to lend money for home purchases.

Noh added that under the Moneylenders Act 1951 (Act 400) and the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 (Act 118), housing developers are required to submit financial reports to the ministry.

To a supplementary question from Dr Makin, Noh said the Moneylenders Act 1951 is not applicable in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

He said it would be up to the respective states to decide on allowing property developers to offer loans to house buyers.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government today warned that Bersih 5.0 and the Red Shirts group are disallowed from holding any gatherings and they will have to face the law if they do so.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government made the decision because it did not want a clash between the two groups.

Ahmad Zahid said the venue of the gathering for which notice was given by Bersih or the Yellow Shirts group was on the prohibited list of venues in the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 despite the notice having been given 10 days prior to the event.

"As was specified in the statement issued by Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Mhd Amin Nordin (Abdul Aziz), Kuala Lumpur City Hall does not allow the venue to be used.

"As such, the police have decided that the decision of KL City Hall must be adhered to and advises the two groups against organising any gathering as stated by me in the Dewan Rakyat today," he told reporters at the lobby of Parliament House.

The Red Shirts had planned a gathering at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday while Bersih 5.0 intended to have one on Nov 19.

Winding up debate on the Supply Bill 2017 allocation for the Home Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat, Ahmad Zahid said the ministry did not have any relationship with and did not promise any protection to any group, whether it was Bersih or the Red Shirts.

He said the police would act firmly against the two groups if they did not adhere to the procedures specified.

"The Honourable Member for Kinabatangan (Datuk Bung Moktar Radin) and the Honourable Member for Bukit Gelugor (Ramkarpal Singh) had asked me whether the Home Ministry had any relationship with the Red Shirts and sought an undertaking over whether the Red Shirts would cease their gatherings if Bersih did so.

"I wish to stress here that the Home Ministry has no relationship whatsoever nor does it provide protection for any group, whether it is Bersih or the Red Shirts," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said that up to October this year, 175 police reports were received in the country on the Bersih 5.0 gatherings.

Based on the police reports, he said, investigations were conducted under the Sedition Act, Peaceful Assembly Act and other laws.

Ahmad Zahid said several reports were also received on the leader of the Red Shirts group, Datuk Jamal Yunos.

"I wish to state that if there is no yellow (group), there will be no red (group). If there is no Maria Chin (chairman of Bersih 2.0), there will surely be no Jamal Yunos.

"So, I ask the red and yellow groups to find the best platform to seek a solution than to resort to holding gatherings," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said that in the matter of Bersih and the Red Shirts, the Home Ministry called on all quarters to uphold the law as enshrined in the Federal Constitution and other legislation in force.

"While we struggle for something in the national interest or to uphold justice, we should not ignore the laws formulated by Parliament," he said. Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: The definition of “affordable home prices” in the market needs to be addressed in a more uniform way, Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) Institute Chairman Jeffrey Ng said today.

Speaking to reporters at the Rehda Institute Post-Budget Commentary 2017, Ng pointed out that there were different definitions of “affordable homes”.

“The government has a threshold of RM300,000, some professional associations use RM400,000, while Rehda is saying RM500,000,” said Ng.

He explained that among the factors for this phenomenon was the location and land cost for the project.

Yesterday, Deputy Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique said the government planned to streamline the prices of affordable homes throughout the country.

She said her ministry was preparing a working paper on this and would be presenting it to the National Housing Council.

Ng said Rehda Institute would also be conducting research into the same matter and hoped to get the results next year.